Editors Note: This is a guest post by Paul Bates from SolidEssay. His opinions are his own.
Two decades ago, businesses did not give a hoot about what went on online. Much to their surprise, they needed an online presence shortly afterward. After a few more years, a mere online presence ceased to do the trick. The time had come for outstanding content, and the popular online “household” phrase ‘content is king’ emerged.
Today, the online space is characterized by cutthroat competition that compels businesses to look beyond content to get to professional writers, who in addition to authoring the content can provide value-added services such as developing a killer content strategy that attracts traffic and converts them into customers.
Below is a list of tips and tools that can lead you to a content writer of the highest calibre.
Blogs / writer websites and your inbox
When the internet went public, the primary focus was to take it to the remotest corners of the world. Today, what people can accomplish with the internet is more important. Professional content writers have become perceptive and are deserting online job boards and content mills for their own websites.
In fact, I dare say that highly professional writers are scarce on job boards nowadays. Instead, they market their services through personal blogs and writing websites.
One of the ways you can reach this breed of writers is to pay close attention to the emails that troop into your inbox, yes, your inbox. Through “cold pitching” they take it upon themselves to reach out to those they consider worthy of their services.
Do not robotically delete every email that lands in your inbox. One of them might be the pitch that solves all your content needs. Be sure to go for customized or professional email addresses only. Professional content writers don’t use free emails to send their pitches.
Social Media
Social media platforms provide everyone with access to a global audience. Professional writers are aware of this and are using them to enhance their online visibility.
- Facebook allows writers to set up customized “Facebook Pages” through which they can popularize their services. These pages are good places to find professional content creators. Facebook also allows users to form groups. These groups are online communities that share particular attributes, which bring them together. Writers have many groups of this kind. They use them to help one another by sharing experiences and advice. It is easy to identify good writers from such groups.
- Twitter is a popular platform that writers use to market themselves. Blog owners have their blogs linked to their Twitter and Facebook accounts. Whenever they publish a post on their blogs, their Twitter accounts carry the headline. A quick keyword search on Twitter can yield excellent writers through their posts.
- LinkedIn is another place to find highly competent writers. As content writing gets competitive, resourceful writers invent new ways of finding clients. Currently, LinkedIn is the most popular professional networking platform. It is teaming with professional writers.
All you have to do is search. You can type in some keywords relating to the kind of writer you want, or browse publications on LinkedIn. Professional writers appreciate the value of publishing relevant content on such platforms. The content leads back to their websites.
Online job boards
Reputable online job boards can also yield good writers. These platforms often have rigorous screening procedures that leave no room for mediocre writers. Only good writers make it through their tests and end up in the pool of available writers.
The challenge with such platforms is that someone else can take tests either for pay or for free so that some other unqualified individual ends up working on your content. The good thing is that it takes just the first piece to gauge the writer’s ability. For those who have no time for such, a trial piece can do the trick.
Content mills
Finally, content mills are also still home to some very good writers. Their characteristic low pay to writers makes them attractive to writers with poor language skills, who cannot be accepted anywhere else.
Nevertheless, some good writers can also be found here. According to Michael Cox, who is Vice President at ConfidentWriters, in order to get a professional writer on such websites, there is a need to scrutinize their reputation. Most content mills permit clients to rate a writer every time they submit a piece. On such platforms, the writer with the highest rating is likely to be professional. Even so, you must do your due diligence.
In conclusion, many other methods of finding professional writers exist. Everyone has their preferred method of identifying the kind of writer that suits them. Nevertheless, the highlighted tips and tools are practical and will lead anyone looking for a professional content writer directly to the kind of writer they want.
Author
Michael Overell
Michael Overell is a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader with a proven track record in building companies, products, and teams in both startup and hyper-growth environments. Currently, he serves as a key executive at ClassDojo, where he is responsible for driving revenue growth and helping children around the world access quality education. Michael is also actively involved in investing and providing support to promising foreign founders looking to break into the US market through his work with Antipodes.
